Hey sweeties~ I have news for you all. So, my updates might get messy from now on, because I started working. I still have time to write, but not as much, and my work pretty much fries my brain. This is why from now on, the number of updates per week might change. I'm sorry about this, hopefully everything will stay the same, but I just wanted to warn you all, just in case.
And that's it for now. Please enjoy~
So here they were, standing in front of Agasa's house. Shinichi peeked out of Kaito's pocket, and watched the building with a deep frown and chewed on his lips. He wished he had the thief's confidence with this whole problem, because at that moment, he really felt helpless.
"Would you mind telling me what you told him?" he asked as he looked up at Kaito, the frown never leaving his face.
"I told him that you were found by a guy, who took care of you after he got over the shock that dolls can talk." he said easily with a shrug. Oh yeah. Good for him, not being nervous at all. Or his Poker Face is just that good. Either way, he stepped closer to the front door and raised his hands to ring the doorbell, when Shinichi stopped him again.
"Don't you think that you should give me more details? This won't be enough, we won't be able to fool them like this."
"Right. My name is Yamada Shuuzo at the moment, and I have a niece. I originally wanted to give you to her, before I found out that you were actually alive." Still so awfully carefree and calm. Just lean down a bit and I'll kick the glasses off your nose, you damn thief.
"And?"
"And what?"
"That's it?"
"Pretty much, yeah." Kaito shrugged again. "I mean you were knocked out for two weeks, so you and Yamada-san don't know too many things about each other yet." After that he rang the doorbell and waited. His posture changed slightly – he was standing straight, hands by his side, head held up high – but Shinichi figured that it was more because he was getting into character, not because he was getting nervous.
They heard shuffling from behind the door, before it opened slowly, and revealed a little girl standing inside with a slightly bored look on her face. Shinichi choose to hide himself completely, while Kaito merely raised an eyebrow, before he said in a calm tone:
"Good afternoon. My name is Yamada Shuuzo. I've talked to Agasa-san about my visit already." The girl nodded, but didn't even budge from her spot, just looked at Kaito expectantly. When he said nothing, just returned her deadpan gaze with his own, she asked:
"Where is he?" To anyone else, she might've sounded uninterested, but Shinichi could hear the faintest signs of curiosity in her voice. Damn, Haibara can be scary when she's curious, he thought with a shudder. And now she was curious about him? Suddenly, Shinichi felt that he really didn't want to be there at all.
"I'd rather not show him to you, little girl, while we're still outside." Kaito said. His deadpan voice was even more terrifying than Haibara's, and Shinichi shuddered again. When someone, who's tone is so cheerful and full of life usually, talked like this, it always sounded weird.
Haibara seemed to be satisfied with Kaito's answer though, as she stepped aside to let them in. Shinichi still didn't dare to peek out, even at the sound of the professor, who greeted "Yamada-san" and asked him to sit down. When he did, Kaito held out a palm for Shinichi to climb out of his pocket, and looked down on him with a faint, barely visible smile.
No, he absolutely did not feel like climbing out, in fact, he just wanted to hide himself even more, then stay there until they returned to Kaito's place. His pride, which he seemed to ignore pretty well until now was screaming, painting his cheeks crimson red, turning every thought of his into one sentence: "I don't want to!" His gaze was meant to convey the same message to Kaito, as he looked up at him with the best puppy dog eyes he could just have, but it didn't seem to work. The thief just poked him once, and nodded, urging him to reveal himself. He whined, but did as he should've, and carefully placed his feet on Kaito's palm. The other boy's smile grew a tiny bit wider, before his expression became neutral again, to match his disguise, but the reassuring look never quite leaved his face.
And Shinichi needed it, because as he faced Agasa and Haibara in his current form, he felt his legs go weak. He ducked his head in shame, then shyly raised it again, to look back on the other two, while he felt that his cheeks were burning.
Apparently both the professor and Ai were speechless, as they stared at him for a minute that felt like hours. They didn't really seem to believe it, and Shinichi wanted to join them in their disbelief, then wake up from his dream that was full of nonsense, stupid organisations, poisons, antidotes, and shrinking.
"S-Shinichi?" Agasa gasped out after long moments of silence. His voice seemed to echo in the otherwise quiet house. He only got a nod as an answer. "Is that really you?" Another nod, this time slightly more confident. He still wasn't convincing enough, as the professor continued the staring. But then he stood up, quite suddenly too, snatched him from Kaito's hands, and enveloped him in a crushing, rough hug. It was all sorts of awkward, considering how big the man was compared to him, and it was nothing like Kaito's careful hugs, but Shinichi felt such relief that he almost felt like crying right there and then. He didn't even know what he was so afraid of anymore. As he turned his head slightly, he saw Kaito right next to them, desperately trying to stay in character, while also trying to keep Shinichi safe, and he raised his hands, not sure if he should take him from the professor or leave them be.
The hug had to end eventually, but the happy, relieved glint never really leaved Agasa's eyes from then on. Somehow it made Shinichi happy and relieved too. He was ready for everything now.
Haibara was unreasonably difficult. Not that Shinichi ever expected her to just believe everything right from the very first moment, but the way she kept staring at him was getting creepy. They'd been there for hours now (they tried to come up with something to get Shinichi out of this mess), and Haibara was still coming up with the weirdest questions, trying to catch him (and Kaito as well) by surprise, and prove that they are imposters.
"Which cup was yours, when you were staying over?" she asked, when she appeared out of nowhere behind them.
"I had a black one." Shinichi answered, rubbing his temples. This was getting tiring. "I used to drink from a blue one, before Ayumi-chan broke it." Haibara nodded thoughtfully at that, and left them alone. Not that he felt relieved from this, he already knew better. A few minutes, and she'd be back with another question. A part of him, the nicer one obviously, tried to come up with some excuse for her, she had a reason to be paranoid after all. But that didn't make it easier to tolerate her. One look at Kaito proved that the other boy was reaching his limit as well.
"We need to get Conan out of the picture…" he murmured to himself. He was the first one to say it out loud, but it has been going through their heads for a while now. Kaito's eyes darkened slightly behind his glasses, while the professor nodded slowly. "Everyone thinks that I'm just investigating some case far from here, but Conan…" He was chewing on his lips, trying to find a solution. Kaito couldn't disguise himself as a child, even if he gathered all his courage to actually ask him to do so. If he disappeared for two weeks, it meant that neither Ran, nor the police would be satisfied with a simple phone call and some easy excuse. They needed a good story, and an actual Conan.
"The police is still looking for him…" the professor said and sighed.
"And Mouri Kogoro." Kaito added. Shinichi saw the hint of a smile on his face, but it disappeared as soon as it appeared, leaving only that frightening, neutral expression behind. He was too good at playing this role. But there was something else too. Did he know-? Of course he knew about the investigation. Perhaps even before he found out who "Arthur" was. And he kept it a secret. Shinichi felt angry, but he didn't really know why.
"Ah… I'll get something to drink…" Agasa said, then stood up and left them there. Kaito didn't dare to drop his mask yet, but some worry already shined through his eyes, as he looked at Shinichi. Around this time they were already having dinner, if not heading for a shower or a bath. He must be tired… Kaito shook his head. He couldn't stop thinking about Shinichi as some vulnerable child, he worried too much. He was getting attached. Not good. Not good at all. Stop this, whatever we have between us. Sever this bond.
When the professor returned, he brought three mugs – one for himself, one for Yamada, and one for… oh. As he put them on the table, he noticed that those mugs were almost as tall as Shinichi. He sent the boy an apologetic glance, and got a sad, but forgiving smile in return.
"It's okay, Agasa-san." Yamada said in a tone that was supposed to be reassuring. If Shinichi hadn't known who Yamada was, he could've had heard it too, instead of the plainness. "He usually doesn't drink anyway, just eats fruits with lots of juice. It keeps him hydrated."
"I s-see…" the man nodded uneasily, and sat down again. Yamada, still with his deadpan expression, produced a mineral water bottle out of nowhere, turned off the cap, and handed it to Shinichi.
"Do you want to drink too?" They both ignored the wide eyed look Agasa gave them, Kaito with more ease, while Shinichi shook his head. He just scowled at no one and nothing in particular, still struggling to think of something that would save him.
They heard the sound of the door, and moments later Haibara appeared, approaching them with a determined expression. She had another question for him. But instead of looking annoyed, Shinichi's eyes lit up as he smiled, then said:
"I've found Conan."
